Heat-interchanger.



No. 840,667. PATENTED JAN. 8, 1907.

J. B. SPEED 6L P. THBLEN HEAT INTERCHANGBR. APPLICATION FILED ocT.1a, 190s.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. B. SPEED 6: P. THELEN. HEAT INTERCHANGER.

APPLICATION FILED 061213. 1906.

PATENTBD JAN. 8, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEioE.

JAMES BUOKNER SPEED, OF BERKELEY, AND PAUL THELEN, OF NATIONAL 'i CITY, CALIFORNIA; SAID SPEED ASSIGN OR OF ONE-HALF OF HISRIGHT TO JOHN HERBERT WALLACE, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

HEAT-IINTEBCHANGER.

Patented Jan. "s, 1907.

y Application led October 13.19.06. Serial No. 338,718.

To all whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that we, JAMES BUGKNER SPEED, residing at Berkeley, in the county of Alameda, and. PAUL THELEN, residing at National City, in the county of San Diego, State of California, citizens` of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heat-Interchangers, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates tothe class of apparatus within which heat is to be transferred from one fluid to another.

The objects of our invention are simplicity l inconstruction vand operation, including ease of cleaningl and low initial cost, together with high economy of heat units, which is brought .about by minimizing the heatlosses of convection and radiation.

To these ends our invention consists in the novel heat-interchanger which we shall now describe.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of our heat-interchanger, taken throu h the stack of 1 lates on the line :z: of t e plate shown'in ig. 2. Fig. 2 is a pllan of the upper face of one of the plates w 'chcompose the stack. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of our heat-interchanger, taken through the stack of plates on theline y y of the plate shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a plan of the lower face of the plate of Fig. 2, said plate being reversed and turned bottom to top. g

We desire to state at the outset that .neither form, shape, size, nor number is essential to vour invention.` By this we mean that the number, size shape, and form of thev plates which compose the stack may be varied; that the channels between the plates, through which the fluids pass, may be variously-formed and may -be of various shapesas, for example', they may be angular, spiral, circular, or otherwise in their direction-and that the number of inlets and outlets to and from said channels may be varied according to the number of separate fluids to be used 1n the operation. Therefore in describingthe device shown in the accompanying drawings it must be understood that we are describing 5o one Iform--to wit, the one we have chosen to showy-but that we are not conned to that form.. There is but one'essential of the device-namely, thatit be of such a character that the iiuid or fluids of lowest initial heat potential shall be nearest the surfaces which are exposed to the atmosphere at such times yin their travel as they are at their lowest heat potential--namely, at the beginning of their journeyand that the fluid or fluids of highest initial heat potential are also nearest the surfaces whichare exposed to the atmosphere at such times in their travel. as -they are at their lowest heat potential-namely, at

the end of their journey. This essential is gained in our device by such an arrangement of plates, channels, and inlets and outlets that the former fluids are admitted at or near the exposed boundaries of t-he device and iiow inwardly therefrom to their discharge at yor near the center, and the latter fluids are admitted at or near the center and flow out` wardly therefrom to their discharge at or near the exposed surfaces of the device.

Regarding iirst Fig. 2, the numeral 1 indicates a comparatively thin metallic plate,

which on its upper surface is formed orprovided with ribs 2, so directed in the present illustration as to form a plurality of .circular concentric channels 3, which at suitable points (indicated by 4) communicate Through t 's plate 1 is made near its outer ledge a hole A, the wall of which on its inner upper edge is, cut away, so that said hole communicates with the channel 3 of greatest diameter.` Through the plate near its cen- 8o through o enings or 'breaks in the ribs.4`

ter is made a hole B, whicliin similar manner communicates with the circular channel y of smallest diameter.

It will be readily seen by the arrows that a Huid fed through the hole A will iow througlh t e the intercommunicating channels 3 from perimeter of the plate to its center and will discharge through the hole/B.,

Referring now to Fig. 4, the under side of the plate 1 will be seen to be formed or provided with circular 'ribs 2', forming annular channels 3 intercommunicating through breaks 4. Through the plate 1 is made near its outer edge a third hole B', and near its center a fourth'lioleA. These communicate,

IOO

respectively,with the channel 3 of greatest diameter and the channel 3 of smallest diameter. By the arrows shown in Figs. 4 it willi i be seen that a iuid fed to the hole A will. flow from the center outwardly through the which (Shown in Figs. 2

channels 3 and will discharge near the outer boundary of the platethrough the hole B.

By referring' to Figs. 1 and 3 it will -be seen that ourheat-interchangeris composed of a plurality oi these plates, such as 1, stacked in series in such wise that the corresponding faces of adjacent plates are directly imposed against each other-for example selecting as the plate l'the one so designated in Figs. 1 and 3, the overlying plate (marked 5) has for its adjacent face the mirror image -of the top face of plate 1, and the underlying plate (marked 6) has for its adjacent face the mirror image of the bottom face of plate 1, and so on throughout the series. The same holds true of the topmost plate 7, which though it is a single channeled plate, has its bottom facethe image oi' the top face ofI the plate on which it rests, and also of the lowermost plate 8, which has Aits top face `the image ofthe Ibottom face of the plate next above it.

The stack of plates is clamped by the end lates 9 by means of peripherally-arranged Olts 10 and acentral bolt (not shown) passes down through the hole C.

plate are made theholes A2, A3, B2, and B3, coinciding, respectively, with the holes A, A, B, and B inthe ribbed plates'. By this arrangement it will be seen by reference to Fig. 1 that the inlet-holes A of the ribbed plates for-n1 a continuous passage which communicates with alternate channels, includingthe top and bottom channels, and that the inlet-holes A form a continuous passage lcommunieating with the intervening channels. Y

By referring `to Fig. 3 it will be seen that y the outlet-holes B communicate with the .iso

same channels withwhich the inletholes A communicate, and that the outlet-holes B communicate with thefsame channels with which the inlet-holes A communicate, thus providing for a series oi channels through which iiuids of diiierent heat potentials may iiow through adjacent channels.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1 it is intended that the initially-cooler il d shall enter` the device. through the coverehole A2L andthe alined perimeter plate-holes-Ayand thence flow, as shown by the arrows, vinto the topmostchannel and into every alternatel 'channel to and including the lowermost, and from all of said channels shalldischarge throu h the central alined plate-holes -B and cover'- ole B2, as is shown in Fig. 3. It is also intended that the initially-hotter fluid sha-ll; as shown by the arrows in Fig. d, enter the central cover-hole 'AS and the alined'central plate-holes A', and thence flow through the intervening'alt'ernate channels and discharge, as'shown in Fig. 3, through-theperimeter plate-holesB and coverehole B3. In this low the initially-cooler huid is e os'ed at thebng ofits journey, whenit is the and It.) In the top clamp- -or more 'iiuids may give u coolest, to those portions of the devicenamely, the circumference and the two ends of the stack-which are exposed to the atmosphere, and the initially-hotter iluid is also so exposed at the end of its journey, when it is the coolest. Thus the entire exposed surface of the device is in. contact with the rela tively cool iiuid, whereby the heat losses by convection and radiation are cut down. The heat losses from the two ends are diminished both absolutely and relatively-absolutely by having the relatively cool iiuid in. contact with them, said iiuid'b ein g at sonic approximately) constant (rising) temperature below the (falling) temperature of the relatively hot liuid, and relatively by still further reducing the absolute value by piling or stacking up a large number of plates, thus increasing the surface effective for heat transmission without increasing the end surface for heat loss.

We 'have in the above description included in the operation only two iiuids. It is obvious, however, that more than two fluids may be used'by simply providing more inlet and discharge holes and arranging their communications with the channels in such manner that the iuids of different yheat potentials shall be adjacent and shall iiow in opposite directions. For example, two hot fluids might beused with one cold fluid, the latter flowing always between the hotter fluids. Such would be the case Where the interchange of heat is to take place between one feed-water and the .two separate hot fluids, the distillate, and the concentrate resulting romdistilling operations. In'this way two yheat to a third or to several other iiuidswit' out destroying the individuality of any one ofthe iiuids.

Having thus described our invention, what We claimas new, and'desre to secure `by-Letters Patent, is4

1. A heat-interchanger havin within its body a plurality of separate c annels arrangedlv successively adjacent in series, each channelrunning a-course from the perimeter ofthe body to 'lts axis; an inlet for the iuid of lowerinitial heat potential to alternate channels at their outer-'ends andan outletfor said fluid front said alternate channels at their inner ends, the 'surfaces-of the body which are exposed to the atmosphere at such time in its travel as it is at its lowest heat potential; namely at the beginning ofits journey; an inlet for'the ii 'd of 'gherl initial heat potential to the int rvening channels at their inner ends and an outlet for said luid from said intel-venin channels at their outer ends, whereby said fluid is also nearest the 'surfaces yofthe bod whichare exposed @to the atmosphere at suc' time in itstravel as itis at'its-lowest heat potential namely, at the end oits journey.

2. A heat-interchanger composed ofa lstack whereby said fluid is nearest- IKO plates aving between them channels running a course from theperimeter of said stack from said alternate channels attheir `inner` to its axis; an inlet for the fluid of lower initial heat potentialto 'alternate channels at their outer ends and an outlet for .said fluid ends, whereby` said fluid is nearest thesurfaces of the stack which are exposedto4 the atmosphere at such time in its travel .asit is at 'ts lowest heat potential, namely, at'the beginning of its 'ourney; lan inlet for the iluid of higher initial eat potential to the intervening channels at their inner ends and an outlet for said fluid from said intervening channels at their outer ends, whereby said fluid is also nearest the surfaces of the stack which are exposed to the atmosphere at such time in its travel as it is at its lowest heat potential, namel at the end ofy its journey.

3.A eat-interchanger composed of' a stack of independent plates clamped together and ribbed to form between the adjacent surfaces of successive plates channels which vrun a. course fromthe perimeter'of said stack. to its potential to alternate channels at their outer axis; an inlet for the fluid of lower initial heat g ends and an outlet for said fluid from said alternate channels at their inner ends, whereb said fluid is nearest'the'surfaces of the stac `which are exposed to the atmosphere at such time in its travel as itis at its lowest heat po- I tential, namely, at'the beginning of its journey; an inlet for the fluid of higher` initial heat potential to the intervenin channels at their inner ends and an outlet or said uid Jfrom said intervening channels at their outer ends, whereby said fluid is also nearest`the surfaces of the stack which are exposed to the atmosphere at such time in its travel as it is at its lowest heat potential, namely, at the vvend of its journey.

In testimony whereofgwe have signed our names to this speciiication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. n

JAMES BUCKNER SPEED'. PAUL THELEN. Witnesses:

'CLARENCE M. REED, J. S. Rosn. 

